Winter Storm 2021

“The governor of Texas is a very powerful person,” Patrick said at a Capitol news conference, ramping up his dayslong campaign to get Abbott to intervene. “He can do anything he wants.” Full Story 

Dozens of natural gas companies failed to do the paperwork that would keep their facilities powered during an emergency, so utilities cut their electricity at the very moment that power plants most needed fuel. The mid-storm scramble to fix the problem exposed a regulatory blind spot. Full Story 

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the House "stood for big business" after Speaker Dade Phelan signaled skepticism about reversing billions of dollars in charges for wholesale electricity during last month’s winter storm. Full Story 

If approved, former Griddy customers might not have to pay their outstanding bills, some of which cost more than $15,000. Still, many customers have already had their bank accounts drafted or credit cards charged for thousands of dollars. Full Story 

The deaths occurred in at least 25 counties. And 25 of the fatalities occurred in Harris County. Some Texas deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning and medical equipment failure. Full Story 

Senate Bill 2142, sponsored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, had not even been filed when the day started Monday, but lawmakers suspended their rules to hastily push it through the Senate. Full Story 

An unusual appearance by the lieutenant governor at a Senate hearing looked like a tough session for one of Gov. Greg Abbott's appointees — and raised speculation about political tension between the state's top two elected officials. Full Story 

Abbott has previously directed much of the blame for the storm’s power outages on the state’s electrical grid operator. Full Story 

The city of Lubbock made plans to join ERCOT in 2015. After last month's winter storm, some feel anxious about the move. Full Story 

The state’s energy grid operator overcharged power companies by roughly $3 billion after the winter storm — not $16 billion, the chairman of Texas’ utility regulator said Thursday. Full Story 

It's going to be expensive to make sure the state's electricity stays on during winter storms like the one that blacked out most of Texas last month, and the money will come, one way or another, from average Texans. Full Story 

Shelly Botkin's departure comes a week after the commission's chair, DeAnn Walker, also stepped down. Full Story 

Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday also said he wants lawmakers to prioritize correcting any ERCOT-related billing errors, including inaccurately high electricity charges. That came after the Public Utility Commission said it will not fix ERCOT's $16 billion power billing mistake. Full Story 

A proposed remodeling of the state’s electricity grid from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller might be more than it seems. It reads like a campaign’s position paper. Full Story 

Politically powerful natural gas production and transportation companies, along with their regulators, appear to have so far escaped the wrath of the governor and the Legislature in the aftermath of the Texas power outages. Full Story 

The Public Utility Commission ignored its independent monitor’s recommendation to retroactively reduce the market price for power for at least part of the week of the winter storm. Full Story 

Johnson’s Backyard Garden, an organic farm near Austin, lost almost its entire crop during February's devastating winter storm. Full Story 

An independent market monitor for the Public Utility Commission of Texas wrote in a letter that the power grid operator kept market prices too high for nearly two days after widespread outages ended. Full Story 

The St. Phocas Garden in San Antonio’s historic West Side supplies a local food pantry with the only fresh vegetables many of its clients get, but it suffered major freeze damage during the winter storm. Full Story 

Bill Magness is the latest official to depart following the winter storm catastrophe. Full Story